Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing

by Ellen G. White

Chapter 4: The True Motive in Service

The Pharisees had stated hours for prayer; and when, as often came to pass, they were abroad at the appointed time, they would pause wherever they might be—perhaps in the street or the market place, amid the hurrying throngs of men—and there in a loud voice rehearse their formal prayers.

"Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of
them." Matthew 6:1, margin.

The words of Christ on the mount were an expression of that
which had been the unspoken teaching of His life, but which the people had
failed to comprehend. They could not understand how, having such great power,
He neglected to use it in securing what they regarded as the chief good. Their
spirit and motives and methods were the opposite of His. While they claimed to be
very jealous for the honor of the law, self-glory was the real object which
they sought; and Christ would make it manifest to them that the lover of self
is a transgressor of the law. {MB 79.1}

But the principles cherished by the Pharisees are such as
are characteristic of humanity in all ages. The spirit of Pharisaism is the
spirit of human nature; and as the Saviour showed the contrast between His own
spirit and methods and those of the rabbis, His teaching is equally applicable
to the people of all time. {MB
79.2}

In the days of Christ the Pharisees were continually trying
to earn the favor of Heaven in order to secure the worldly honor and prosperity
which they regarded as the reward of virtue. At the same time they paraded
their acts of charity before the people in order to attract their attention and
gain a reputation for sanctity. [80]{MB 79.3}

Jesus rebuked their ostentation, declaring that God does not
recognize such service and that the flattery and admiration of the people,
which they so eagerly sought, was the only reward they would ever receive. {MB 80.1}

"When thou doest alms," He said, "let not thy
left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and
thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." {MB 80.2}

In these words Jesus did not teach that acts of kindness
should always be kept secret. Paul the apostle, writing by the Holy Spirit, did
not conceal the generous self-sacrifice of the Macedonian Christians, but told
of the grace that Christ had wrought in them, and thus others were imbued with
the same spirit. He also wrote to the church at Corinth and said, "Your
zeal hath stirred up very many." 2 Corinthians 9:2, R.V. {MB 80.3}

Christ's own words make His meaning plain, that in acts of
charity the aim should not be to secure praise and honor from men. Real
godliness never prompts an effort at display. Those who desire words of praise
and flattery, and feed upon them as a sweet morsel, are Christians in name
only. {MB 80.4}

By their good works, Christ's followers are to bring glory,
not to themselves, but to Him through whose grace and power they have wrought.
It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accomplished, and the
Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver. When the light of
Christ is shining in the soul, the lips will be filled with praise and
thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, your performance of duty, your benevolence,
your self-denial, will not be [81] the theme of your thought or
conversation. Jesus will be magnified, self will be hidden, and Christ will
appear as all in all. {MB
80.5}

We are to give in sincerity, not to make a show of our good
deeds, but from pity and love to the suffering ones. Sincerity of purpose, real
kindness of heart, is the motive that Heaven values. The soul that is sincere
in its love, wholehearted in its devotion, God regards as more precious than
the golden wedge of Ophir. {MB
81.1}

We are not to think of reward, but of service; yet kindness
shown in this spirit will not fail of its recompense. "Thy Father which
seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." While it is true that
God Himself is the great Reward, that embraces every other, the soul receives
and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character. Only like
can appreciate like. It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of
humanity that He gives Himself to us. {MB 81.2}

No one can give place in his own heart and life for the
stream of God's blessing to flow to others, without receiving in himself a rich
reward. The hillsides and plains that furnish a channel for the mountain
streams to reach the sea suffer no loss thereby. That which they give is repaid
a hundredfold. For the stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind its
gift of verdure and fruitfulness. The grass on its banks is a fresher green,
the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers are more abundant. When the earth
lies bare and brown under the summer's parching heat, a line of verdure marks
the river's course; and [82] the plain that opened her bosom
to bear the mountain's treasure to the sea is clothed with freshness and
beauty, a witness to the recompense that God's grace imparts to all who give
themselves as a channel for its outflow to the world. {MB 81.3}

This is the blessing of those who show mercy to the poor.
The prophet Isaiah says, "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and
that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the
naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own
flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall
spring forth speedily. . . . And the Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought: . . . and thou shalt be
like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Isaiah 58:7-11. {MB 82.1}

The work of beneficence is twice blessed. While he that
gives to the needy blesses others, he himself is blessed in a still greater
degree. The grace of Christ in the soul is developing traits of character that
are the opposite of selfishness,—traits that will refine, ennoble,
and enrich the life. Acts of kindness performed in secret will bind hearts
together, and will draw them closer to the heart of Him from whom every
generous impulse springs. The little attentions, the small acts of love and
self-sacrifice, that flow out from the life as quietly as the fragrance from a
flower—these constitute no small share of the blessings and happiness
of life. And it will be found at last that the denial of self for the good and
happiness of others, however humble and uncommended here, is recognized in
heaven as the token of our union with Him, the [83] King of
glory, who was rich, yet for our sake became poor. {MB 82.2}

The deeds of kindness may have been done in secret, but the
result upon the character of the doer cannot be hidden. If we work with
wholehearted interest as a follower of Christ, the heart will be in close
sympathy with God, and the Spirit of God, moving upon our spirit, will call forth
the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch. {MB 83.1}

He who gives increased talents to those who have made a wise
improvement of the gifts entrusted to them is pleased to acknowledge the
service of His believing people in the Beloved, through whose grace and
strength they have wrought. Those who have sought for the development and
perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works,
will, in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon
earth will reach its consummation in that higher and holier life to endure
throughout eternity. {MB
83.2}

"When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are." Matthew
6:5.

The Pharisees had stated hours for prayer; and when, as
often came to pass, they were abroad at the appointed time, they would pause
wherever they might be—perhaps in the street or the market place,
amid the hurrying throngs of men—and there in a loud voice rehearse
their formal prayers. Such worship, offered merely for self-glorification,
called forth [84] unsparing rebuke from Jesus. He
did not, however, discountenance public prayer, for He Himself prayed with His
disciples and in the presence of the multitude. But He teaches that private
prayer is not to be made public. In secret devotion our prayers are to reach
the ears of none but the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the
burden of such petitions. {MB
83.3}

"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet." Have a
place for secret prayer. Jesus had select places for communion with God, and so
should we. We need often to retire to some spot, however humble, where we can
be alone with God. {MB
84.1}

"Pray to thy Father which is in secret." In the
name of Jesus we may come into God's presence with the confidence of a child.
No man is needed to act as a mediator. Through Jesus we may open our hearts to
God as to one who knows and loves us. {MB 84.2}

In the secret place of prayer, where no eye but God's can
see, no ear but His can hear, we may pour out our most hidden desires and
longings to the Father of infinite pity, and in the hush and silence of the
soul that voice which never fails to answer the cry of human need will speak to
our hearts. {MB 84.3}

"The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
James 5:11. He waits with unwearied love to hear the confessions of the wayward
and to accept their penitence. He watches for some return of gratitude from us,
as the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. He
would have us understand how earnestly and tenderly His heart yearns over us.
He invites us to take our trials to His sympathy, our [85] sorrows
to His love, our wounds to His healing, our weakness to His strength, our
emptiness to His fullness. Never has one been disappointed who came unto Him.
"They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not
ashamed." Psalm 34:5. {MB
84.4}

Those who seek God in secret telling the Lord their needs
and pleading for help, will not plead in vain. "Thy Father which seeth in
secret Himself shall reward thee openly." As we make Christ our daily
companion we shall feel that the powers of an unseen world are all around us;
and by looking unto Jesus we shall become assimilated to His image. By
beholding we become changed. The character is softened, refined, and ennobled
for the heavenly kingdom. The sure result of our intercourse and fellowship
with our Lord will be to increase piety, purity, and fervor. There will be a
growing intelligence in prayer. We are receiving a divine education, and this
is illustrated in a life of diligence and zeal. {MB 85.1}

The soul that turns to God for its help, its support, its
power, by daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear perceptions
of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a continual hungering and
thirsting after righteousness. By maintaining a connection with God, we shall
be enabled to diffuse to others, through our association with them, the light,
the peace, the serenity, that rule in our hearts. The strength acquired in
prayer to God, united with persevering effort in training the mind in
thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares one for daily duties and keeps the
spirit in peace under all circumstances. {MB 85.2}

If we draw near to God, He will put a word in [86]
our mouth to speak for Him, even praise unto His name. He will teach us a
strain from the song of the angels, even thanksgiving to our heavenly Father.
In every act of life, the light and love of an indwelling Saviour will be
revealed. Outward troubles cannot reach the life that is lived by faith in the
Son of God. {MB 85.3}

"When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do." Matthew
6:7.

The heathen looked upon their prayers as having in
themselves merit to atone for sin. Hence the longer the prayer the greater the
merit. If they could become holy by their own efforts they would have something
in themselves in which to rejoice, some ground for boasting. This idea of
prayer is an outworking of the principle of self-expiation which lies at the
foundation of all systems of false religion. The Pharisees had adopted this
pagan idea of prayer, and it is by no means extinct in our day, even among
those who profess to be Christians. The repetition of set, customary phrases,
when the heart feels no need of God, is of the same character as the "vain
repetitions" of the heathen. {MB 86.1}

Prayer is not an expiation for sin; it has no virtue or
merit of itself. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one
holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but idle words if they do not
express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an
earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed, as we would [87]
ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting it to be granted—this is
the prayer of faith. God does not desire our ceremonial compliments, but the
unspoken cry of the heart broken and subdued with a sense of its sin and utter
weakness finds its way to the Father of all mercy. {MB 86.2}

"When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites." Matthew 6:16.

The fasting which the word of God enjoins is something more
than a form. It does not consist merely in refusing food, in wearing sackcloth,
in sprinkling ashes upon the head. He who fasts in real sorrow for sin will never
court display. {MB 87.1}

The object of the fast which God calls upon us to keep is
not to afflict the body for the sin of the soul, but to aid us in perceiving
the grievous character of sin, in humbling the heart before God and receiving
His pardoning grace. His command to Israel was, "Rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God." Joel 2:13. {MB 87.2}

It will avail nothing for us to do penance or to flatter
ourselves that by our own works we shall merit or purchase an inheritance among
the saints. When the question was asked Christ, "What shall we do, that we
might work the works of God?" He answered, "This is the work of God,
that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." John 6:28, 29. Repentance is
turning from self to Christ; and when we receive Christ so that through faith
He can live His life in us, good works will be manifest. [88]{MB 87.3}

Jesus said, "When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and
wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which
is in secret." Matthew 6:17, 18. Whatever is done to the glory of God is
to be done with cheerfulness, not with sadness and gloom. There is nothing
gloomy in the religion of Jesus. If Christians give the impression by a
mournful attitude that they have been disappointed in their Lord, they
misrepresent His character and put arguments into the mouth of His enemies.
Though in words they may claim God as their Father, yet in gloom and sorrow
they present to the world the aspect of orphans. {MB 88.1}

Christ desires us to make His service appear attractive, as
it really is. Let the self-denials and the secret heart trials be revealed to
the compassionate Saviour. Let the burdens be left at the foot of the cross,
and go on your way rejoicing in His love who first loved you. Men may never
know of the work going on secretly between the soul and God, but the result of
the Spirit's work upon the heart will be manifest to all, for He "which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." {MB 88.2}

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth." Matthew 6:19.

Treasure laid up on earth will not endure; thieves break
through and steal; moth and rust corrupt; fire and storm sweep away your
possessions. And "where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also." Treasure laid up on the earth will engross the mind to the
exclusion of heavenly things. {MB 88.3}

The love of money was the ruling passion in the [89]
Jewish age. Worldliness usurped the place of God and religion in the soul. So
it is now. Avaricious greed for wealth exerts such a fascinating, bewitching
influence over the life that it results in perverting the nobility and
corrupting the humanity of men until they are drowned in perdition. The service
of Satan is full of care, perplexity, and wearing labor, and the treasure men
toil to accumulate on earth is only for a season. {MB 88.4}

Jesus said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also." {MB 89.1}

The instruction is to "lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven." It is for your own interest to secure heavenly
riches. These alone, of all that you possess, are really yours. The treasure
laid up in heaven is imperishable. No fire or flood can destroy it, no thief
despoil it, no moth or rust corrupt it; for it is in the keeping of God. {MB 89.2}

This treasure, which Christ esteems as precious above all
estimate, is "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
Ephesians 1:18. The disciples of Christ are called His jewels, His precious and
peculiar treasure. He says, "They shall be as the stones of a crown."
"I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the
golden wedge of Ophir." Zechariah 9:16; Isaiah 13:12. Christ looks upon
His people in their purity and perfection as the reward of all His sufferings,
His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory—Christ,
the great Center, from whom radiates all glory. {MB 89.3}

And we are permitted to unite with Him in the [90]
great work of redemption and to be sharers with Him in the riches which His
death and suffering have won. The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian
Christians: "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even
ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? for ye are our glory
and joy." 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20. This is the treasure for which Christ
bids us labor. Character is the great harvest of life. And every word or deed
that through the grace of Christ shall kindle in one soul an impulse that
reaches heavenward, every effort that tends to the formation of a Christlike
character, is laying up treasure in heaven. {MB 89.4}

Where the treasure is, there the heart will be. In every effort
to benefit others, we benefit ourselves. He who gives money or time for
spreading the gospel enlists his own interest and prayers for the work, and for
the souls to be reached through it; his affections go out to others, and he is
stimulated to greater devotion to God, that he may be enabled to do them the
greatest good. {MB 90.1}

And at the final day, when the wealth of earth shall perish,
he who has laid up treasure in heaven will behold that which his life has
gained. If we have given heed to the words of Christ, then, as we gather around
the great white throne, we shall see souls who have been saved through our
agency, and shall know that one has saved others, and these still others—a
large company brought into the haven of rest as the result of our labors, there
to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet, and praise Him through the ceaseless ages
of eternity. With what joy will the worker for Christ [91] behold
these redeemed ones, who share the glory of the Redeemer! How precious will
heaven be to those who have been faithful in the work of saving souls! {MB 90.2}

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."
Colossians 3:1. {MB 91.1}

Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the
condition pointed out by the Saviour's words. Let the purpose be sincere and
unwavering to discern the truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will
receive divine enlightenment. Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is
at an end. Then the language of the heart will be that of the apostle Paul:
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." "I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ." Philippians 3:13, 14, 8. {MB 91.2}

But when the eye is blinded by the love of self, there is
only darkness. "If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness." It was this fearful darkness that wrapped the Jews in stubborn [92]
unbelief, making it impossible for them to appreciate the character and mission
of Him who came to save them from their sins. {MB 91.3}

Yielding to temptation begins in permitting the mind to
waver, to be inconstant in your trust in God. If we do not choose to give
ourselves fully to God then we are in darkness. When we make any reserve we are
leaving open a door through which Satan can enter to lead us astray by his
temptations. He knows that if he can obscure our vision, so that the eye of
faith cannot see God, there will be no barrier against sin. {MB 92.1}

The prevalence of a sinful desire shows the delusion of the
soul. Every indulgence of that desire strengthens the soul's aversion to God.
In following the path of Satan's choosing, we are encompassed by the shadows of
evil, and every step leads into deeper darkness and increases the blindness of
the heart. {MB 92.2}

The same law obtains in the spiritual as in the natural
world. He who abides in darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is
shut in by a deeper than midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noontide
can bring no light. He "walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he
goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." 1 John 2:11. Through persistently
cherishing evil, willfully disregarding the pleadings of divine love, the
sinner loses the love for good, the desire for God, the very capacity to
receive the light of heaven. The invitation of mercy is still full of love, the
light is shining as brightly as when it first dawned upon his soul; but the
voice falls on deaf ears, the light on blinded eyes. [93]{MB 92.3}

No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own
ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. "Man turns from God,
not God from him." Our heavenly Father follows us with appeals and
warnings and assurances of compassion, until further opportunities and
privileges would be wholly in vain. The responsibility rests with the sinner.
By resisting the Spirit of God today, he prepares the way for a second
resistance of light when it comes with mightier power. Thus he passes on from
one stage of resistance to another, until at last the light will fail to
impress, and he will cease to respond in any measure to the Spirit of God. Then
even "the light that is in thee" has become darkness. The very truth
we do know has become so perverted as to increase the blindness of the soul. {MB 93.1}

"No man can serve two masters." Matthew 6:24.

Christ does not say that man will not or shall not serve two
masters, but that he cannot. The interests of God and the interests of
mammon have no union or sympathy. Just where the conscience of the Christian
warns him to forbear, to deny himself, to stop, just there the worldling steps
over the line, to indulge his selfish propensities. On one side of the line is
the self-denying follower of Christ; on the other side is the self-indulgent
world lover, pandering to fashion, engaging in frivolity, and pampering himself
in forbidden pleasure. On that side of the line the Christian cannot go. [94]{MB 93.2}

No one can occupy a neutral position; there is no middle
class, who neither love God nor serve the enemy of righteousness. Christ is to
live in His human agents and work through their faculties and act through their
capabilities. Their will must be submitted to His will; they must act with His
Spirit. Then it is no more they that live, but Christ that lives in them. He
who does not give himself wholly to God is under the control of another power,
listening to another voice, whose suggestions are of an entirely different
character. Half-and-half service places the human agent on the side of the
enemy as a successful ally of the hosts of darkness. When men who claim to be
soldiers of Christ engage with the confederacy of Satan, and help along his
side, they prove themselves enemies of Christ. They betray sacred trusts. They
form a link between Satan and the true soldiers, so that through these agencies
the enemy is constantly working to steal away the hearts of Christ's soldiers. {MB 94.1}

The strongest bulwark of vice in our world is not the
iniquitous life of the abandoned sinner or the degraded outcast; it is that
life which otherwise appears virtuous, honorable, and noble, but in which one
sin is fostered, one vice indulged. To the soul that is struggling in secret
against some giant temptation, trembling upon the very verge of the precipice,
such an example is one of the most powerful enticements to sin. He who, endowed
with high conceptions of life and truth and honor, does yet willfully
transgress one precept of God's holy law, has perverted His noble gifts into a
lure to sin. Genius, talent, sympathy, even generous and kindly deeds, [95]
may become decoys of Satan to entice other souls over the precipice of ruin for
this life and the life to come. {MB 94.2}

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 1 John 2:15,
16. {MB 95.1}

"Be not anxious." Matthew 6:25, R.V.

He who has given you life knows your need of food to sustain
it. He who created the body is not unmindful of your need of raiment. Will not
He who has bestowed the greater gift bestow also what is needed to make it
complete? {MB 95.2}

Jesus pointed His hearers to the birds as they warbled their
carols of praise, unencumbered with thoughts of care, for "they sow not,
neither do they reap;" and yet the great Father provides for their needs.
And He asks, "Are not ye of much more value than they?" R.V.

"No sparrow falls without His care,
No soul bows low but Jesus knows;
For He is with us everywhere,
And marks each bitter tear that flows.
And He will never, never, never
Forsake the soul that trusts Him ever." {MB 95.3}

The hillsides and the fields were bright with flowers, and,
pointing to them in the dewy freshness of the [96] morning,
Jesus said, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." The
graceful forms and delicate hues of the plants and flowers may be copied by
human skill, but what touch can impart life to even one flower or blade of
grass? Every wayside blossom owes its being to the same power that set the
starry worlds on high. Through all created things thrills one pulse of life
from the great heart of God. The flowers of the field are clothed by His hand
in richer robes than have ever graced the forms of earthly kings. And "if
God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into
the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" {MB 95.4}

It is He who made the flowers and who gave to the sparrow
its song who says, "Consider the lilies," "Behold the
birds." R.V. In the loveliness of the things of nature you may learn more
of the wisdom of God than the schoolmen know. On the lily's petals, God has
written a message for you, written in language that your heart can read only as
it unlearns the lessons of distrust and selfishness and corroding care. Why has
He given you the singing birds and the gentle blossoms, but from the
overflowing love of a Father's heart, that would brighten and gladden your path
of life? All that was needed for existence would have been yours without the
flowers and birds, but God was not content to provide what would suffice for
mere existence. He has filled earth and air and sky with glimpses of beauty to
tell you of His loving thought for you. The beauty of all created things is but
a gleam from the shining of His glory. If He has lavished such infinite skill
upon the things of nature, [97] for your happiness and joy, can
you doubt that He will give you every needed blessing? {MB 96.1}

"Consider the lilies." Every flower that opens its
petals to the sunshine obeys the same great laws that guide the stars, and how
simple and beautiful and how sweet its life! Through the flowers, God would
call our attention to the loveliness of Christlike character. He who has given
such beauty to the blossoms desires far more that the soul should be clothed
with the beauty of the character of Christ. {MB 97.1}

Consider, says Jesus, how the lilies grow; how, springing
from the cold, dark earth, or from the mud of the river bed, the plants unfold
in loveliness and fragrance. Who would dream of the possibilities of beauty in
the rough brown bulb of the lily? But when the life of God, hidden therein,
unfolds at His call in the rain and the sunshine, men marvel at the vision of
grace and loveliness. Even so will the life of God unfold in every human soul
that will yield itself to the ministry of His grace, which, free as the rain
and the sunshine, comes with its benediction to all. It is the word of God that
creates the flowers, and the same word will produce in you the graces of His
Spirit. {MB 97.2}

God's law is the law of love. He has surrounded you with
beauty to teach you that you are not placed on earth merely to delve for self,
to dig and build, to toil and spin, but to make life bright and joyous and
beautiful with the love of Christ—like the flowers, to gladden other
lives by the ministry of love. {MB 97.3}

Fathers and mothers, let your children learn from the
flowers. Take them with you into garden and field [98] and
under the leafy trees, and teach them to read in nature the message of God's
love. Let the thoughts of Him be linked with bird and flower and tree. Lead the
children to see in every pleasant and beautiful thing an expression of God's
love for them. Recommend your religion to them by its pleasantness. Let the law
of kindness be in your lips. {MB
97.4}

Teach the children that because of God's great love their
natures may be changed and brought into harmony with His. Teach them that He
would have their lives beautiful with the graces of the flowers. Teach them, as
they gather the sweet blossoms, that He who made the flowers is more beautiful
than they. Thus the tendrils of their hearts will be entwined about Him. He who
is "altogether lovely" will become to them as a daily companion and
familiar friend, and their lives will be transformed into the image of His
purity. {MB 98.1}

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God." Matthew 6:33.

The people who listened to the words of Christ were still
anxiously watching for some announcement of the earthly kingdom. While Jesus
was opening to them the treasures of heaven, the question uppermost in many
minds was, How will a connection with Him advance our prospects in the world?
Jesus shows that in making the things of the world their supreme anxiety they
were like the heathen nations about them, [99] living
as if there were no God, whose tender care is over His creatures. {MB 98.2}

"All these things," said Jesus, "do the
nations of the world seek after." "Your heavenly Father knoweth that
ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Luke 12:30;
Matthew 6:32, 33. I have come to open to you the kingdom of love and
righteousness and peace. Open your hearts to receive this kingdom, and make its
service your highest interest. Though it is a spiritual kingdom, fear not that
your needs for this life will be uncared-for. If you give yourself to God's
service, He who has all power in heaven and earth will provide for your needs. {MB 99.1}

Jesus does not release us from the necessity of effort, but
He teaches that we are to make Him first and last and best in everything. We
are to engage in no business, follow no pursuit, seek no pleasure, that would
hinder the outworking of His righteousness in our character and life. Whatever
we do is to be done heartily, as unto the Lord. {MB 99.2}

Jesus, while He dwelt on earth, dignified life in all its
details by keeping before men the glory of God, and by subordinating everything
to the will of His Father. If we follow His example, His assurance to us is
that all things needful in this life "shall be added." Poverty or
wealth, sickness or health, simplicity or wisdom—all are provided for
in the promise of His grace. {MB
99.3}

God's everlasting arm encircles the soul that turns to Him
for aid, however feeble that soul may be. The [100]
precious things of the hills shall perish, but the soul that lives for God
shall abide with Him. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but
he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:17. The city of
God will open its golden gates to receive him who learned while on earth to
lean on God for guidance and wisdom, for comfort and hope, amid loss and affliction.
The songs of the angels will welcome him there, and for him the tree of life
shall yield its fruit. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant
of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isaiah
54:10. {MB 99.4}

"Be not therefore anxious for the morrow. . . . Sufficient unto the day is
the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34, R.V.

If you have given yourself to God, to do His work, you have
no need to be anxious for tomorrow. He whose servant you are, knows the end
from the beginning. The events of tomorrow, which are hidden from your view,
are open to the eyes of Him who is omnipotent. {MB 100.1}

When we take into our hands the management of things with which
we have to do, and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a
burden which God has not given us, and are trying to bear it without His aid.
We are taking upon ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, and thus
are really putting ourselves in His place. We may well have [101]
anxiety and anticipate danger and loss, for it is certain to befall us. But
when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us good we shall cease
to worry about the future. We shall trust God as a child trusts a loving
parent. Then our troubles and torments will disappear, for our will is
swallowed up in the will of God. {MB 100.2}

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Christ has given us no promise of help in bearing today the
burdens of tomorrow. He has said, "My grace is sufficient for thee"
(2 Corinthians 12:9); but, like the manna given in the wilderness, His grace is
bestowed daily, for the day's need. Like the hosts of Israel in their pilgrim
life, we may find morning by morning the bread of heaven for the day's supply. {MB 101.1}

One day alone is ours, and during this day we are to live
for God. For this one day we are to place in the hand of Christ, in solemn
service, all our purposes and plans, casting all our care upon Him, for He
careth for us. "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
"In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength." Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 30:15. {MB 101.2}

If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day; if you
will of your own spiritual choice be free and joyous in God; if with gladsome
consent of heart to His gracious call you come wearing the yoke of Christ,—the
yoke of obedience and service,—all your murmurings will be stilled,
all your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now
confront you will be solved. {MB
101.3}